Web-guiding apparatus

ABSTRACT

A lead-in table for guiding a plurality of horizontally moving webs into at least two horizontally diverging paths toward subsequent processing machinery such as a cutoff knife. The table includes a first set of slats which receives the webs from a slitter-scorer and guides them to a second sequentially adjoining set of slats. The first set is pivotable about an end to provide clearance for indexing the slitter-scorer or for setup of the heads on the slitter-scorer. The second set of slats guides the webs to the cutoff knife. Selected ones of the slats of the second set are pivotable to form variable-width guides corresponding to selected widths of the webs to guide them along horizontally diverging paths to the vertically displaced cutting rolls of the cutoff knife.

United States Patent 3,478,654 11/1969 Willard Primary Examiner-Allen N. Knowles Attorneys-Boyce C. Dent, Oscar B. Brumback and Olin E.

Williams ABSTRACT: A leadin table for guiding a plurality of horizontally moving webs into at least two horizontally diverging paths toward subsequent processing machinery such as a cutoff knife. The table includes a first set of slats which receives the webs from a slitter-scorer and guides them to a second sequentially adjoining set of slats. The first set is pivotable about an end to provide clearance for indexing the slitter-scorer or for setup of the heads on the slitter-scorer. The second set of slats guides the webs to the cutoff knife. Selected ones of the slats of the second set are pivotable to form variable-width guides corresponding to selected widths of the webs to guide them along horizontally diverging paths to the vertically displaced cutting rolls of the cutoff knife.

Patented April 2o, 1971v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m N Wm P/ u. ma, i

FIG. 3

l//vsz/Ppakrea w55 UNS UPI-701? 7' ED WEB v" INVENTOR WEB-GUIDING APPARATUS CROSS-REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION entitled WEB GUIDING APPARATUS FOR CORRUGATORS and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to cutting and more particularly to plural guide elements to guide moving work.

2. Description of the Prior Art Conventionally, corrugating machines produce a web of corrugated paperboard much wider than the width of the corrugated web which is ultimately desired for forming carton blanks. Accordingly, the wide web is fed into a slitter-scorer which divides it into a plurality of narrower webs. The width of the narrower webs may be varied according to the blank size required.

Each of the narrower webs is guided to separate transverse cutoff knives which cut the webs into selected length blanks. In this manner, webs of varying width may be cut into sheets of varying length thereby enabling variousl blank sizes to be produced from a single web of corrugated board. The final sizes of the blanks are determined by the corresponding box size desired.

The slitter-scorer ordinarily has three work stations with each station comprising a pair of parallel shafts upon which are mounted cooperating slitting and scoring heads. The slitter-scorer is arranged so that one work station is in operative engagement with the webs while the other two are in a position away from the webs. ln this manner, two of the work stations may be preset for later use while the remaining work station is in-use. Instead of stopping the movement of the web to reposition the slitting and scoring heads on the slitter-scorer to form different widths, the second and third pairs of slitting and scoring heads may be positioned by the operator so as to be ready for use when it is time to make the desired order change.

When an order change occurs, the web is transversely cut prior to reaching the slitter-scorer. The upstream end of the web, that is, the end coming from the corrugator, is slowed down while the severed downstream portion of the web continues on to the slitter-scorer at the original speed. Thus a gap is produced between the upstream and downstream portions of the web.

After the downstream portion of the web clears the slitterscorer and before the upstream portion arrives at the slitterscorer, the latter is rotated or indexed to position a second pair of shafts for engagement with the web.

The cutoff knives are generally arranged at different heights so that one set of cutoff knives will be at a higher position than the other set with respect to the path of travel of the moving web. The cutoff knives are each preset to cut a different sheet length of corrugated blank following the order change. Therefore it becomes necessary to guide the divided web portions to different sets of cutoff knives after the webs have passed through the slitter-scorer. One of the narrower webs must be guided to a lower positioned cutoff knife while another of the narrower webs must be guided to a higher positioned cutoff knife,

Occasionally, three cutoff knives are provided to cut varying length blanks from three streams of web.

Conventionally, a plurality of transversely spaced slats are provided between the slitter-scorer and the cutoff knives to guide one of the moving webs to the upper knife and the other web to the lower knife. The controls for positioning the slats may be set by the operator during setup prior to an order change. The number of slatsy positioned to guide a streamto the upper or lower knife depends on the width of the web stream. The slats are generally pivotally attached to a support and, during an order change, the slats are pivoted about their support to positions wherein they will accurately guide the web streams to the appropriate cutoff knife. Such an arrangement of supported slats is known in the art as a lead-in table.

lf a web of corrugated board is permitted to move without adequate support the deflection in the web due to its weight will cause the web to vibrate or fluff. It is of extreme importance in lead-in tables that the corrugated webs be well supported between the slitter-scorer andthe cutoff knives. Also it is important that the webs not be subjected to abrupt changes in direction asthey are guided to paths which diverge from the path of travel of the original web.

Conventional slats manually positioned by the operator are unsatisfactory due to the time needed for setup of the slats- To do this, the corrugating machine would have to be temporarily shut down which is undesirable for reasons well known in the art.

Saunders et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 3,307,441 have provided a lead-in table having slats whose desired position is presettable by the operator. Webs leaving the slitter-scorer are passed between a set of rolls and onto the slats. In such an arrangement, however, the webs are not continuously supported as they leave the slitter-scorer and move to the slats of the lead-in table. Furthermore, when the webs are guided along horizontally diverging paths to the cutoff knives, the angle of inclination of slats leading to the uppermost knife may become quite steep as compared to the lowermost knife which is substantially on the same horizontal plane as the slitter-scorer. Machines shown in prior art have not continuously supported the webs as they leave the slitterscorer to provide clearance for indexing the triplex slitterscorer during an order change. As previously mentioned, indexing is accomplished by rotating the triplex slitter-scorer to position a second or third set of slitter rolls for engagement with the web.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides a lead-in table which effectively supports the webs continuously from the nips of the slitter-scorer heads to the stationary aprons of the cutoff knife and automatically provides a clearance for indexing of the slitter-scorer duringv an order change. Furthermore, the table is of simple and reliable construction resulting in considerable cost savings in comparison with prior art devices.

ln the present invention, continuous support and clearance for indexing is accomplished by providing a lead-in table having two sets of traversely spaced slats, one of the sets of slats extending from a pivot support to the nips of the slitterscorer heads to receive and continuously support the webs as they emerge from the slitter-scorer and the other set of slats extending from the support to the stationary aprons of the cutoff knives, thus continuously supporting the webs as they are guided from the slitter-scorer to the appropriate cutoff knife.

The pivot support is attached by brackets to the side frames of he slitter-scorer and to the base of the cutoff knife so that the entire table is independent of the floor to provide access by the operator into a pit beneath the slitter for setting up the slitter heads on the inoperative work stations of the slitter` The slats of the first set are simultaneously pivotable out of the path of travel of the slitter-scorer during indexing. These slats are further pivotable about the pivot support into the same plane as the slats of the second set which are directed to the lower knife. 'This position permits the passage of mill run board onto the table with the slitter-scorer in midindex position.

The slats of the second set, however, are individually positionable to guide the separate webs along horizontally diverging paths toward the appropriate cutoff knife.

The first and second sets of slats are automatically controlled by the operator from a central control panel and slat positions for the second set may be preselected at the same panel. The first and second sets of slats are independently actuated.

The above and further objects and novel features ol' the invention will appear more fully from the following detailed description when the same is read in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are not intended as a definition of the invention but are for the purpose of illustration only.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings wherein like parts are marked alike:

FIG. l is a perspective view of the lead-in table including the slitter-scorer shown in phantom outline;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation showing the lead-in table of FIG. l connected to the rotary cutoff knives and slitter-scorer;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cutaway portion illustrating the alternate positions of the first set of slats during operation, during indexing of the slitter-scorer, and during the processing of mill run paperboard;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of the alternate positions of the slat support showing the increase in web support resulting from a reduction of the incline of the slats to the upper cutoff knife.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the preferred embodiment of this invention, a lead-in table identified generally by numeral l in FIG. l, is shown as it is used in cooperation with a triplex slitter-scorer 50 shown in phantom outline. Lead-in table I0 comprises a first set of identical slats l2 and a second set of identical slats I4. Both slats l2 and I4 are supported by a common support I6 which extends transversely across the path of travel of corrugated web I8, FIG. 2. Suitable framework is provided to support lead-in table I0 between the slitter-scorer S0 and cutoff knife 60 as shown in FIGS. l and 2 which framework includes brackets and legs 30.

First slats l2, FIG. 2, are pivotally supported by support member I6 and in their normal operating position extend horizontally toward slitter-scorer S0. The free ends ll of slats 12 extend to the nips of the slitter rolls 5I to provide support for corrugated web 18 when it emerges from slitter rolls 5l.

The purpose of a lead-in table is twofold:

I. to support the corrugated board between the slitterscorer and the cutoff` knife; and

2. to guide the plurality of webs emerging from the slitterscorer to the appropriate cutoff knife.

Referring again to FIGS. l and 2, it can be seen that web 18 is slit into a plurality of webs 18a and I8b, each of a preselected width, which proceed along Ieadin table l0 toward duplex cutoff knife 60. Webs 18a and I8b pass over slats 12 and onto second slats 14 which have individual actuating members 24, as will be more fully discussed hereinafter. A number of second slats 14, which substantially correspond to the width of web 18a, are left in their at rest position to guide web 18a to a lower pair of cutoff knife rolls 62, as can be seen in FIG. 2.

Rod 22, FIGS. l and 3, is secured to the upper surface of support 16 by brackets 23 on each end of the rod 22. Rod 22 passes through holes 2l p4ovided in the ends of the slats l2 and I4 which are interdigitally spaced along rod 22. Sluts I2 are pinned to rod 22 by pins (not shown) so that when rod 22 is rotated, the entire first set of sluts I2 will simultaneously rotiite with the rod.

A reversible rotary actuator 42, preferably hydraulic, is mounted to the end of support I6 by screws (not shown) arid has an output shaft I7, coupled to rod 22 by a coupling 19. When output I7 is rotated in the desired direction, the slats l2 pinned to rod 22 also rotate in a similar manner to the position desired.

Slats 14, however, are not pinned to rod 22; rod 22 merely passes through 'clearance holes in the ends of slats I4 so that the slats 14 will rotate about rod 22 when they are raised by actuating members 24. Since slats 14 are individually operable by actuating members 24, any desired number of slats 14 may be raised or lowered to a preselected position to support any combination of width variations of webs 18a and l8b. Thus, it can be seen in FIG. 2 that webs 18a and 18h are substantially supported by slats I2 and I4 as the webs are guided from slitter-scorer 50 to the stationary aprons 66u and 66L of duplex cutoff knife 60.

lt is important that the operator have access to the pit area 53 (the recessed area beneath the automatic lead-in table and adjacent the slitter-scorer). During setup time when one of the work stations of slitter-scorer 50 is operating on web I8, the operator must enter pit 53 and adjust the slitting and scoring heads on the rolls 5I of the lower work stations according to the desired width of webs needed for subsequent orders. Accordingly, the slat support 16, is clamped to brackets 20 by clamps 26 at each end of the support. Brackets 20 are mounted to the side frames S2 of the slitter-scorer 50 by screws (not shown). ln this manner, no leg supports are secured to the floor of the pit area 53 thereby avoiding needless obstructions in the pit and enabling the operator to move freely about the pit arca during setup time.

A pair of side supports 33 are attached to slat support 16 by screws (not shown) and extend from the support I6 toward cutoff knife 60. Legs 30 are secured to supports 33, such as by welding and extend downward to where they are fastened to the base 6l of cutoff knife 60 by screws 3l. A crossmember 25 is secured between side supports 33 by screws (not shown) to support slats I4 in their at rest position. In this manner, the area under lead-in table 10 remains clear of any obstructions that might hinder the operator in working in pit area 53.

ln some installations, the duplex cutoff knife 60 is situated farther from the triplex slitter-scorer 50 than what might be considered as the standard dimension. ln this case, legs 30 can be anchored to the floor by the use of adapter foot pads. lf desired, brackets 20 can be provided with three-dimensional adjustment means which will allow for any reasonable departure from installation dimension requirements of the slitter-scorer and the cutoff knife as established in the general arrangement specifications of the corrugator line. It should also be noted that the effective length of the lead-in table l0 can be extended by making slats I4 whatever length is desired. As previously discussed, first slats l2, at the receiving end of lead-in table I0, are simultaneously positionable to three distinct positions, FIGv 3:

l. a substantially horizontal position, A, extending toward the slitter-scorer 50 for receiving and supporting the webs 18a and 18h;

2. a substantially vertical position, B, to provide clearance for indexing the slitter-scorer 50 to a new position during an order change; and

3. a substantially horizontal position, C, extending toward the cutoff knife 60 during production of mill run board (when web 18 is not divided into narrower widths).

In the first position, A, slats 12 are substantially horizontal and extend to the nips of the slitter rolls 51 for receiving and supporting webs 18a and lb. When slats l2 are in position A, slitter-scorer 50 is in position for the heads (not shown) on rolls 5l to engage moving web 18 as best shown in FIG. 3.

During running of an order the operator presets the heads on the other slitter rolls for cutting web I8 to different widths on subsequent orders. Therefore, the operator need only index or rotate the slitter-scorer to position the appropriate slitter rolls to engage web I8. During indexing, slats l2 must be pivoted to position B as shown in FIG. 3, to clear the circumference of slitter-scorer 50 as shown by phantom line D in FIG. 3. When indexing is completed, slats I2 are returned to position A.

As is well known in the corrugated paperboard industry, many small box manufacturers do not have equipment for producing corrugated board. These manufacturers do have finishing equipment, that is, equipment which is used to produce box blanks from sheets of corrugated board, therefore, they order large quantities of sheets of corrugated board from those who do have corrugating equipment. Such sheets are not slit to specific widths but are of the same width as the web from which they are made. However, the web is cut into sheet lengths by a cutoff knife. The unslitted corrugated board web is known as mill run board.

To produce mill run board, slitter-scorer S is positioned as shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 3 to permit web I8 to pass unobstructed over the slitter rolls 5l.

When slitter rolls 51 are in this position it is not possible to pivot slats l2 to position A because they would interfere with rolls 511. Therefore, slats 12 are moved to position C where they lie in substantially the same plane as slats I4 when slats 14 are in their lowermost position. A slat support 9 is fastened between a pair of side supports 33 to supports slats 12 in position C. Thus, unslitted web 18 is guided by lead-in table 110 to the lower cutoff' knife where appropriate sheet lengths are cut.

Slats 14 of the second set are pivotally attached to and freely rotatable around rod 22. An actuator support bar 27, FIG. 2, is secured beneath side supports 33 by screws (not shown). A power-actuating member such as a hydraulic cylinder 24 is trunnion mounted in the conventional manner to support bar 27 by clips 29 welded to the bar. One cylinder 24 is provided beneath each slat 14 and is attached thereto in the conventional manner such as by a pin 43 and clevis 45 fastened to each slat. Thus, each slat 14 may be raised from itsat rest" position against crossmember to an up" position by hydraulically extending ram 47 of the associated cylinder 24. By raising the proper number of slats I4, an adequate support for whatever width is chosen for web 18h is provided for guiding this web to the upper knife rolls 64. The slats 114 remaining in the at rest position support and guide web 18a to the lower knife rolls 62.

The operator controls the automatic functions of the lead-in table from a control console 40 which can be mounted on one side frame 52 of slitter-scorer 50 as shown in FIG. I. A conventional bidirectional switch 7l is connected to pneumatic rotary actuator 42 through suitable wiring and solenoid valves (not shown) to rotate output 17 and thus slats 112 through rod 22 on command to any of the positions A, B, or C as desired. The operator also positions the slats 14 in either the at rest or up positions by pushing the appropriate control buttons 73 which are connected through suitable wiring and solenoid valves (not shown) to cylinder 24. The at rest and up position control buttons 73 are provided on console 40 for each of slats 14 although only one set is shown.

Power to drive rotary actuator 42 and cylinders 24 is supplied by a suitable hydraulic source (not shown) connected to them by means of flexible conduit 44 in the wellknown manner. Controls for first slats l2 and second slats 14 need not be dependent upon each other so that any desired combination of the positions which are available to slats l2 and 114 may be accomplished by the operator using the appropriately designated controls at console 40. However, it may be desirable to interlock the controls in an electrical manner well understood to prevent slats 14 already in an up position to move to the at rest position until slats l2 are moved to position B and to prevent slats 114 in the at rest position from rising to the up position until slats l2 are returned to position A.

Changing over from one order to another is usually done automatically since controls forming no part of this invention are usually provided for changing the length of sheets to be cut by the cutoff knives and for indexing the slitter-scorer to a new position and the like.

Accordingly, it is helpful to provide duplicate controls (not shown) for slats 14 on console 40 of which one set is on standby while the other set is active. That is, the standby set may be activated by the operator while an order is running but will not become effective until a selector switch (not shown) is actuated at the time of changeover. The other set then becomes the inactive set and may be used to select the positions of slats 14 for the next order. Thus, an order change can proceed in an orderly, sequential, and rapid fashion without waiting for the operator to select the appropriate positions for the slats. Duplicate controls such as these are well understood by those skilled in electrical matters.

When a web passes through the slitter-scorer and emerges as two separate webs, the paths of the two webs must be altered and guided to the upper and lower cutoff knives. In some installations, as a first example, the path of travel of the web through the slitter-scorer is slightly above the path of travclthrough the upper knife as illustrated in FIG` 2. Thus, the angular change in direction of webs 18a and 18h is not abrupt. However, in other installations, the path of travel through the slitter rolls 5l may be in substantially the same plane as the path through the lower knife in FIG. 4. Thus, the vertical distance between the path through the slitter rolls 5l' and the path through the upper knife 64' is greater than that shown in FIG. 2. ln this situation, the angular change of direction or slope of web 18h' is much more abrupt than in the first example whereas web ma' makes little or no change in direction.

In order to lessen the abrupt angular change of direction of web 18h', bracket 20 may be adjusted so as to raise support I6 from position 116' to 16" as shown in an exaggerated view in FIG. 4. In this manner, web 1l8b will be guided along a new path lb" thus reducing the abrupt angular change of direction of the web between slitter rolls 51' and upper cutoff knife 64' by increasing the overall distance within which such a change of direction, or a change of slope, takes place. Thus, web 18" is `deflected slightly upward after leaving slitter rolls 5l' so that webs 18a" and 1l8b" are guided to their appropriate cutoff knives after undergoing a second slight alteration in slope at support 16". lf the position of support 116 is used as shown in FIG. 4, then web 1l8b would undergo a more abrupt change in slope over a shorter distance of travel thus causing the web llb' to be momentarily unsupported over a greater distance due to the stiffness of the web and its inability to conform to the contour provided by the slats of the l lead-in table. FIG. 4 indicates the area of nonsupport. Failure to support the web can cause web 18h to fluff or vibrate which has an adverse effect on the slitting and cutoff operations.

In operation, a web of corrugated board 18 produced by corrugating machinery (not shown) located upstream passes through slitter rolls 5l of slitter-scorer 50 and is immediately supported by slats 112 which extend into the nip of the slitter rolls 51. web l@ having thus been slit, scored, and trimmed by slitter-scorer 50 now proceeds as webs 18a and l8b along slats l2 toward slats 114 which support and guide webs 18a and 18h to appropriate cutoff knives 62 and 64. Slatsl4 have been prepositioned to guide one of the webs, for example web l8b, along a horizontally diverging path with respect to the other web, 18a. Web lb having been slit to a preselected width is guided to upper cutoff knife 64 to be cut to a preselected sheet length thus producing a selected blank size of corrugated board. Likewise, web 18a has also been slit to a preselected width and is guided to lower cutoff knife 62 and cut to a preselected sheet length thereby producing a second selected blank size,

In a similar manner, three webs could be slit from web 18 in the slitter-scorer and guided along three horizontally diverging paths by slats 14 to a triple cutoff knife and thus produce three blank sizes of corrugated board.

As the foregoing sequence takes place, the operator makes adjustments to the two sets of slitter rolls which are not in position to engage web 18. These adjustments are made manually by the operator standing in the pit area 53. Other preparations for an upcoming order change are made by the operator at the control console 40 where necessary control functions are preselected.

When an order change is initiated, the web 18 is transversely cut upstream from the slitter-scorer and the upstream portion of web 18 is run at a slower than normal speed. The downstream portion of web 18 continues to the cutoff knife 60 at normal speed. Thus, a gap is created between the upstream and downstream portions of web 18 to permit indexing of slitter-scorer 50 during the time that none of the web is paging through it.

During indexing, slats l2 are raised to position B by rotary actuator 42 to clear the circumference D of slitter-scorer 50. The slitter-scorer then rotates to position the appropriate set of slitter rolls 5l to engage oncoming web 18. Slats l2 then return to position A. Thereafter, preselected ones of slats 14 are raised or lowered as previously described to substantially correspond to the new widths of webs 18a and [8b which will now emerge from slitter-scorer S0.

Upon completion ofthe indexing cycle, and other necessary changes having been made, the upstream portion of web I8 may be speeded up to engage the newly positioned slitter rolls 51. The new widths of webs 18a and l8b are slit and continuously supported and guided by slats l2 and 14 as webs 18a and 18h proceed toward cutoff knives 62 and 64.

To produce mill run board, the operator again cuts the web and allows the downstream portion to run out. The operator then actuates slats l2 to position C and slats 14 to their at rest position and then actuates slitter-scorer 50 to a position wherein one of the pairs of slitter rolls is vertically downward and the remaining two pairs of slitter rolls lie at the same horizontal level as shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 3. ln this position, none of the slitter rolls interfere with or engage web 18 for cutting, but instead they support web 18 at substantially the same level as slats l4. As web 18 travels over slitter-scorer 50 it moves directly to slats 14 and is supported and guided thereby to one of the rotary cutoff knives where the selected sheet lengths are cut and blanks are produced having a width corresponding to the width of web 18.

To return to a normal run, the web 18 is once again cut and the downstream portion is allowed to run out. The upstream portion of web 18 is slowed down. Slitter-scorer 50 is indexed to engage the selected slitter rolls 5l with web I8, slats l2 are returned automatically to position A to receive and support webs 18a and 18h, and the selected ones of slats 14 are automatically raised to the up position to support and guide web l8b to the upper cutoff knife 64 while the selected ones of the others of slats I4 are lowered into the at rest position to support and guide web 18a to the lower cutoff knife 62.

The foregoing has described a novel lead-in table having two separate sets of slats for continuously supporting and guiding streams of corrugated webs between a slitter-scorer and a cutoff knife, thereby reducing the tendency of webs to vibrate or fluff.

lclaim:

l. Web-guiding apparatus for supporting and guiding a plurality of parallel moving webs` whose widths vary from time to time, from a web-receiving end to a web-delivering end opposite said receiving end for guiding said webs along horizontally diverging paths, said apparatus comprising:

a support member extending traversely to the path of travel of said webs between said receiving and delivering ends for supporting the same;

said receiving end including a first set of transversely spaced slats pivotally attached substantially horizontally to said support member and extending therefrom toward the oncoming webs;

said delivering end including a second set of transversely spaced slats pivotally attached to said support member and extending substantially horizontally therefrom in the opposite direction to said receiving end;

first power-actuating means operatively connected to said receiving end for positioning said first set of slats from a web-guiding position to a nonweb-guiding position when the widths of said webs are varied; and

second power-actuating means operatively connected to each of said slats of said second set for positioning discreet ones thereof to form a support, having a width corresponding substantially to the width of at least one of said webs, extending along a path diverging substantially horizontally from said support with respect to the other of said slats of said second set;

whereby the positioning of said discreet ones of said slats guides at least one of said webs along a path diverging substantially horizontally from the path followed by the others of said webs.

2. The apparatus of claim l wherein the slats of said first and said second sets are interdigitally spaced along said supporting member.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said first poweractuating means is attached to said supporting member and is operative to pivot all of the slats of said first set simultaneously.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the second poweractuating means includes a fluid-operated cylinder for each slat of said second set each of which is selectively operable to pivot its associated slat to a preselected position, said cylinders being pivotally attached to said delivering end and to their respective slats.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said first poweractuating means is operable to pivot said first set of slats from a first web-guiding position to a substantially upright nonwebguiding position and to a second web-guiding position in which the slats extend from said support member in the same direction as, and substantially parallel to, the slats in said second set.

6. The apparatus of claim l wherein said discreet ones of said slats are positionable to at least two paths diverging horizontally from said support member with respect to the others of said slats for guiding separate ones of said webs along at least two paths diverging substantially horizontally from the path of the other of said webs.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said support member is substantially vertically adjustable to change the horizontal level of the path of travel of said webs to a position above or below the level at which said webs are received by said receiving end for decreasing the angle of divergence of said horizontally diverging paths with respect to a horizontal line thereby providing a maximum amount of support for each of said webs. 

1. Web-guiding apparatus for supporting and guiding a plurality of parallel moving webs, whose widths vary from time to time, from a web-receiving end to a web-delivering end opposite said receiving end for guiding said webs along horizontally diverging paths, said apparatus comprising: a support member extending traversely to the path of travel of said webs between said receiving and delivering ends for supporting the same; said receiving end including a first set of transversely spaced slats pivotally attached substantially horizontally to said support member and extending therefrom toward the oncoming webs; said delivering end including a second set of transversely spaced slats pivotally attached to said support member and extending substantially horizontally therefrom in the opposite direction to said receiving end; first power-actuating means operatively connected to said receiving end for positioning said first set of slats from a web-guiding position to a nonweb-guiding position when the widths of said webs are varied; and second power-actuating means operatively connected to each of said slats of said second set for positioning discreet ones thereof to form a support, having a width corresponding substantially to the width of at least one of said webs, extending along a path diverging substantially horizontally from said support with respect to the other of said slats of said second set; whereby the positioning of said discreet ones of said slats guides at least one of said webs along a path diverging substantially horizontally from the path followed by the others of said webs.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the slats of said first and said second sets are interdigitally spaced along said supporting member.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said first power-actuating means is attached to said supporting member and is operative to pivot all of the slats of said first set simultaneously.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the second power-actuating means includes a fluid-operated cylinder for each slat of said second set each of which is selectively operable to pivot its associated slat to a preselected position, said cylinders being pivotally attached to said delivering end and to their respective slats.
 5. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said first power-actuating means is operable to pivot said first set of slats from a first web-guiding position to a substantially upright nonweb-guiding position and to a second web-guiding position in which the slats extend from said support member in the same direction as, and substantially parallel to, the slats in said second set.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said discreet ones of said slats are positionable to at least two paths diverging horizontally from said support member with respect to the others of said slats for guiding separate ones of said webs along at least two pAths diverging substantially horizontally from the path of the other of said webs.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said support member is substantially vertically adjustable to change the horizontal level of the path of travel of said webs to a position above or below the level at which said webs are received by said receiving end for decreasing the angle of divergence of said horizontally diverging paths with respect to a horizontal line thereby providing a maximum amount of support for each of said webs. 